Mass. House passes autism bill giving families a tax break

BOSTON – The Massachusetts House quickly passed a bill Wednesday providing tax exemptions for families of children with intellectual disabilities.

“We passed it in a bipartisan way when the folks in Washington have not been able to,” said Rep. Garrett Bradley, D-Hingham. The House bill would allow families of individuals with intellectual disabilities to save money in tax-free funds for future care and support.

The House vote was 151-0.

The legislation also would make permanent a special autism commission. The 34-member commission, created in 2010, will offer policy recommendations to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, asked for an amendment to create seats on the commission for a parent of a child with autism and someone who works with a child with autism. He said his amendment was largely influenced by seeing his own children grow up and play with an autistic friend.

“We know the struggles of raising a child with autism,” Diehl said.

Bradley said that a few families had spoken to him about the opportunity to save money sheltered from taxes. The result was the Achieving a Better Life Experience, or ABLE, program. It was part of the bill passed Wednesday.

The legislation passed after Sen. Michael Barrett, D-Lexington, announced that he expected widespread support of the ABLE program after a House session Wednesday.

Under the bill, the state would drop a requirement that a person have an IQ no higher 70 in order to receive disabilities services, recognizing that someone with autism could have a higher IQ but still have significant limitations.

Bradley said that Massachusetts legislators were not going to wait for Congress to enact a bill.